Child In Apple Store In Paris 2010
Speculation filled the internet with the announcement yesterday that Steve Jobs would be taking another medical leave. Being a long time Apple/Mac fan, I had a normal sense of , ” Oh no, ” for the man before moving into wondering how this might affect the future of Apple. I know it takes a lot of people to tend any garden, but Steve Jobs has long been head gardener in the Apple orchard of ideas and I had to wonder what future harvests might look like if he did not return.
I took the photograph above shooting through the glass into an Apple store in Paris last September when I was there with my sister Margaret. The child on the table intrigued me and I thought immediately that she was likely a future consumer for Apple products and I could not resist taking the shot.
I have long been a fan myself and while I have used a variety of computers in my corporate life, my creative life has been nurtured and supported by Apple since 1993 when I purchased my first computer, a Macintosh TV.
Photo Credit - Vintage Mac Museum
One of only 10,000 made it was pulled from the market after a short while and remains a collector’s item. It was not my smartest computer investment, but being a sentimental sort I still own it.
Although I was already an adult of 33 when I bought my first computer, I still feel as if I grew up with Apple and despite a temporary flirtation with PC’s brought on by my business life, I have been totally faithful since my return in 2004 when I became the owner of iMac G5 which seemed like a Lear jet when compared to my Macintosh TV.
Computers aside, I do hope Steve Jobs is only taking a short break and soon has a return to good health, but truly it’s more for his own sake and the people who love him than concern for the company. Apple has deep roots thanks to Steve Jobs and nothing is likely to change that … at least not for this Mac user.
Gifts Of The Journey 
I never used an Apple until taking my current job, and now I get to work from home and use my PC. Took me a few days to understand how to use the Apple, and I can’t say I’m a fan, but I think it depends on what you’re used to. Nevertheless, I wish Jobs well.
If I could time travel back 20 years I’d buy all the Apple stock I could get my hands on!
I write from my MacBook and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the iPhone on the Verizon network. Definitely a Mac fan. I hope that Steve Jobs is ok, for any number of reasons.
When I worked at an Alaska newspaper our old newspaper-specific computers (Coyote) were replaced with Macs. It seemed like such an intuitive system.
When I finally bought a computer for home use (2001) it was an Apple product. Never had a virus or any other kind of hassles.
I’ve had Macs ever since, including my first laptop (bought last year, when I was 52 years old — I’m a VERY late adopter). I knew that a PC would be cheaper. But the Mac feels more comfortable.
My first computer was a mac laptop. Then for years I only used pcs because they were cheaper. Then…last year after I went through three pcs in one year, each crashing after viruses, I finally bit the bullet and bought an Apple desktop, and love it.
Like you, I send out well wishes for Jobs and wonder how the company will carry on without him.
I’m a pc girl …but that’s only because I’ve never used a MAC….hmmm. Does that sound as daft as it looks???
..yes it does …is dyslexia catching?
I truly wish him well. The world is sorely lacking in such visionaries these days.
Apple all the way…
i am about a 8-year convert to Mac (LOVE my macbook pro – can’t imagine life without it!!). i spend a lot of time drooling over the apple website, sadly no mac sellers out here…so i have to wait until i’m back in the UK. where i will be next week, and very shortly after arrival there will be a trip to our big mac store on london’s regent street – cannot wait!!!
I am a little dubious about joining in this discussion since I know how passionate Mac users can be about their chosen product, but could I just offer my own reasons for not using a Mac.
It is not a simple argument between ‘Mac and PC’ in the way it is often presented.
I have a variety of computers – laptops, netbooks and desktops, running mainly Windows operating systems, but I also use different versions of Linux.
None of my computers is made by Microsoft and I do not rely on that company for hardware updates nor maintenance.
I use Google Chrome browser and Open Office – both direct competitors of Microsoft (and Apple Mac).
If you are happy to give one company a monopoly on hardware and software, then that is obviously a personal choice, but the point that I am making is that the world is not made up of ‘Mac users and PC users’ in the sense that is often portrayed.
its apple all the way for me from the very beginning when i got my first one in the early 90s. i’m a very big supporter as is all of my family.
I think Apple will have to go through some BIG changes whenever Jobs does decide to leave, he’s such an integral part of the company
I think John, that the more catholic view you take is more liberating, but the ability to take it is very difficult if a person does not have the technical knowledge base to be able to let go of the tried and familiar, a base seems to get bigger and bigger all the time. I find the degree to which I am not self sufficient terrifying, in that i have tried many times to absorb what I need to and find that i just can’t keep up, I don’t understand, and there is no ‘intuitive’ about it.
One of my pet rails is how older people are supposed to cope, by which I mean the true elderly (perhaps I’m in denial!) with a world that deamnds a functioning computer for things that we all want to to or need to know. Having worked at a large hardware company for years (no longer in PCs) and directly with Microsoft as well, your points are both well made and taken. That just leaves the question of how to get the knowledge needed not to trip up when making wider choices, out there into a wider community so that it too can exercise its options and not get fleeced de facto because they haven’t the knowledge to implement ‘doing otherwise’.
I’m a Mac user — my techie son “converted” all of us, and I agree with all you said. Hoping that Steve returns to health … always sad to hear of someone so young battling such serious health issues.
All that aside, wishing you a wonderful New Year, and hope it’s off to a great start. Thanks for all your support and good wishes.